Rockets return home with win, hang on to beat Regina
Nolan Foote scores twice in 3-2 victory
After a lengthy six-game, 11-day road trip and well over 4,000 kilometres on the bus, the Kelowna Rockets turned some home cooking into a 3-2 victory over the road-weary Regina Pats at Prospera Place.
In front of a boisterous crowd of 4,632 fans, the Rockets never trailed and parlayed a pair of power-play goals by Nolan Foote into their fourth win in 10 starts on home ice.
“That’s a well-coached team and he drives them to work hard,” Rockets head coach Adam Foote said of his counterpart, Regina bench boss David Struch. “I knew it was going to be a tough game, the way he coaches.
“Coming off a long road trip like that is not easy. It looked like some of the guys didn’t have their legs, but we came up with a big win,” added coach Foote.
The Rockets, now 10-13-1-0 on the season, opened the scoring early.
Mark Liwiski dug the puck out of the corner from between two Regina defenders, and moved it in front where Kyle Crosbie stuffed his third of the season past Dean McNabb at the 2:15 mark.
Nolan Foote put the Rockets ahead 2-0 on the power play at 8:12 of the second stanza when his shot along the ice deflected past McNabb off a Regina defender’s stick. It was Foote’s teamleading 14th of the season and his eighth with the man advantage.
The Pats cut the lead in half at the 13-minute mark when Jake Leschyshyn tracked down a nifty pass from Austin Pratt and with one hand on his stick, chipped the puck past Roman Basran. It was pure hustle — a goal-scorer’s goal — by Leschyshyn, who signed an entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights in June. With 1:37 to play in the middle frame, Foote set up shop again on the power play, at the top of the faceoff circle where he took a feed from Lassi Thomson and ripped his second of the night past McNabb.
“He knows how to shoot a puck, so why not get it to him,” laughed Liam Kindree, who assisted on both of Foote’s goals. “We’re figuring out where guys are on the ice. Games can be won on special teams, so it’s pretty crucial to capitalize on those opportunities.”
A late power-play tally by Pats rearguard Aaron Hyman — on a point shot that eluded a screened Basran — made the final minute interesting, but Kelowna hung on to earn its fourth straight decision on home ice.
The Pats are now 1-4 record on their sixgame, 11-day road trip. However, Regina did the Rockets a favour along the way, collecting its lone win against Kamloops on Tuesday.
The Blazers trail Kelowna in the B.C. Division standings by three points with a pair of games in hand. The Rockets are now tied for third place in the B.C. Division with Prince George, but the Cougars also have two games in hand.
ICE CHIPS: Basran made 23 saves on the night, while McNabb blocked 28 shots . . . . Three stars were Foote, Kindree and Basran. . . . The Rockets were 2-for-5 on the power play. The Pats went 1-for-4 . . . . Rockets scratched D Cayde Augustine, C Ted Brennan, C Ethan Ernst and D Kyle Pow . . . . The Rockets are now 7-0 when leading after two periods . . . . Adam Foote is undefeated at home (4-0) since replacing Jason Smith on Oct. 23 . . . . Next home game is Friday against the Victoria Royals.